Kayden Troff, Photo Shaun Smith
Kayden Troff of Utah suffered his first loss of the event in round nine, so his rebound in round ten was crucial psychologically. In the final position, ...Qxb1 will crush!
5004
Steven Zierk continues to amaze, defeating yet another 2400+ with the black pieces.
5003
Steven's main rival, Samvel Ter-Sahakyan kept pace by winning his game with Black on board two. The two are now a full point ahead of the field with a round to go. If they both win or both draw tomorrow, tiebreaks will determine the gold medal.
Steven Zierk, Photo Shaun Smith
In a bittersweet match-up, Jeffrey Xiong lept into the clear lead in the Boys Under 10 with a win over team-mate Tommy He. Jeffrey now stands with 8.5/10. Just half a point behind and in a tie for 2nd-4th is another American team-mate, Cameron Wheeler. Fortunately, Xiong and Wheeler will not face each other in the final round. Xiong plays Bhaskar Gupta of India on board one while Wheeler plays Jason Cao of Canada on board two. To underscore the US achievement in the Under 10, don't forget Samuel Sevian and Vignesh Panchanatham, both on board three with 7.5/10! Samuel and Vignesh have come a long way to face each other in Greece in the final round- they both live in San Francisco.
Stay posted on all US scores on chessresults.com or the official website. Look for a newsflash with the winners tomorrow on CLO and a final report coming early next week by Shaun Smith.